Children As Consumers: Article Analysis

On considering what marketing is, one article, ‘Children as Consumers: Advertising and Marketing’ by Calvert 2008 defines marketing as “an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit an organiza¬tion and its stakeholders”. Using the “Four Ps of marketing - product, place, price, and promotion - advertisers use paid public presentations of goods and services in a variety of media to influence consumers’ attention to, and interest in, purchasing certain products”. (Calvert 2008) In this article, “The researcher felt it was necessary to review marketing strategies which pertain to promoting unhealthy lifestyle choices …show more content…
Attention-getting production features “are designed to attract children’s interest in commercial content. Such features, which are concentrated in children’s television advertisements, include action and movement, rapid pacing, sound effect and loud music”. Calvert also highlights the use of branded characters and premiums to enhance sales of particular items. We do not need to look too far for any of these characters, Ronald McDonald and Tony the Tiger being case in point. Equally, free toys in Happy Meals can be seen as a prime example of how premiums may indeed have a role to play in promoting childhood obesity. Another clever strategy used by marketing companies, as highlighted by Calvert, includes Celebrity …show more content…
In this study it is highlighted how advertisers often link healthy activities with unhealthy food choices, thereby giving the false impression that the unhealthy foods advertised may promote a healthy life. Of interest is the fact that indeed the advertisers tend not to include healthy activities in the advertisements of foods which are genuinely nutritious and wholesome. (Castonguay, 2015) Clearly advertisers are now using “health” as a marketing